Did jurors' hunger or grumpiness influence guilty verdict?

Attorney for a man convicted of murder is asking a judge to interview jurors who reportedly were denied food, medication during deliberations.

(Orange County Jail )

October 4, 2011|By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel

The three-day murder trial of Devonte Walker in late March received scant attention, taking place during the long lead-up to the Casey Anthony trial.

An Orange County jury of 12 found Walker guilty of first-degree murder and attempted robbery with a firearm. In early July, Judge C. Jeffery Arnold sentenced Walker, who turns 21 later this month, to life in prison.

But in a highly unusual legal move that brings to mind the classic courtroom drama "12 Angry Men," Walker's defense attorney has asked the court to individually interview the jurors who found Walker guilty to determine their demeanor during deliberations and whether the defendant received a fair trial.

Walker's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jamie David Parker Kane, included in his pleadings an affidavit from a court deputy who escorted one juror — who said she was diabetic and was unsteady on her feet — from the Orange County Courthouse when deliberations ended sometime after 10 p.m. March 30.

"The juror complained that she, along with other members of the jury, were angry that they had not been fed," the deputy, Paul Paquette, said in his sworn statement. "And that this had caused the panel to be 'tired and grumpy.' "

The question now is whether the jurors took their grumpiness out on the defendant.

Kane said that interviewing the Walker jurors individually "is the only way to determine what if any effect the conditions of deliberations had upon the jury, regarding either medical needs or their abilities to remain focused on the evidence and instructions."

Kane could not be reached for comment. But three jurors interviewed for this article, including one with diabetes, said this week that the Walker verdicts were based on the facts of the case and that the lengthy deliberations were not a factor.

The defense argument is critical to Walker, a young man looking at spending his life in prison for the east Orange County shooting death of Rene Gonzalez-Doria in early September 2009.

Arnold denied an initial request to interview the jurors before sentencing Walker but then granted a "motion for reconsideration," saying he would question the jurors in open court and ask the defense to propose questions, according to a prosecution memo filed last week.

"Judge Arnold acknowledged that he believed the juror interviews were a 'waste of time' but he felt that conducting the interviews might eliminate a possible appellate issue," Assistant State Attorney James Altman wrote in a 10-page memo.

Arnold's "waste of time" comment and others led the defense to ask that the judge recuse himself from the proceedings. He did just that early last month, stating he "could become a witness in [the] case."

The case was reassigned to Circuit Judge Marc Lubet, who may soon have the unenviable task of trying to discern from the jurors whether anything outside the evidence influenced their decision.

'We had sandwiches'

Concerns about the jurors in the Walker trial were reported to Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry.

"The issue that was brought to my attention was that they were not fed," Perry said. "If a juror is going to be in this courthouse after six o'clock, we feed them, if they want to be fed."

Other concerns were expressed about medical issues and lack of contact with family, Perry said. He had a conversation with Arnold after learning of the episode, Perry said, and reminded him of the policy of feeding jurors, being aware of their medical needs and providing access to loved ones during late deliberations.

Perry cited an "excellent record" of caring for jurors in this circuit, except for this "little blip."

"Sometimes, mistakes are made," Perry said.

Asked whether any mistake made in handling the Walker jury could have affected the verdict, Perry said he could not comment because a higher court may ultimately have to rule on the matter.

Arnold could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

However, one of Walker's jurors, Ramona Gerbig, recalled the trial as a "positive" experience overall, despite the seriousness of the charges and the stressful deliberations. And she recalled the jury was fed the night of the late deliberations.

"The night that we stayed late, we had sandwiches, if I remember correctly," Gerbig said.

She acknowledged the jurors were tired and grumpy, but that was not necessarily because they were hungry, she said. It probably had more to do with the long hours they had put in trying to reach a verdict, Gerbig explained.

"There was nothing to my knowledge that occurred in the jury room that would have changed the outcome of that trial," she said. "I felt that every one of us did our job."

Christine Scarlett, another Walker juror, said she is diabetic and needed to go home and get her medication that night. But she also recalled being fed and agreed the late deliberations did not influence the jury's decision-making.